The findings focus on what the studied police commanders believed they were doing and why they believed those tactics would be effective during hot spots policing implemented under non-experimental conditions. An example causal model for the effectiveness of hot spot policing that emerged from the data is presented. Although the commanders' views aligned with commonly used policing tactics and crime-control theories, their underlying theoretical rationale was complex. The presented model provides one causal model that could be tested in future hot-spots policing evaluations, and the article discusses how the study's methodology can be applied in other jurisdictions to define localized causal models and improve hot spot policing evaluations. (Publisher abstract modified)
A View Inside the Black Box of Hot Spots Policing From a Sample of Police Commanders
NCJ Number
252220
Journal
Police Quarterly Volume: 19 Dated: June 2016 Pages: 488-517
Date Published
June 2016
Length
30 pages
Annotation
This study used observations of crime strategy meetings and interviews with police commanders to "get inside the black box of hot spots policing."
Abstract